"The Other Swedes"
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Smoky Valley Writers ~
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Smoky Valley Writers ~
Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy
2013 "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time"
~ The Words of Mrs. Eddy: "Life Experiences" "The Smoky Valley"
2013 "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time"
~ The Words of Mrs. Eddy: "Life Experiences" "The Smoky Valley"
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LIFE EXPERIENCES
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Page 7
LIFE EXPERIENCES
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Page 7
"From birth in Västerås, Sweden, to a manor in Thunbergia, to the Uppsala University town at age 4, to Florida orange groves, to sailing on clipper ships, to learning photography in Saint Paul, to the small town of Round Rock, Texas, to Lindsborg, Kansas, this was the life of Bror Gustaf Gröndal.
'At the very head of the profession of photography in Kansas stands Bror Gustaf Gröndal, who, for 30 consecutive years, had conducted the leading studio at Lindsborg,' wrote William Connelly in the 1918 edition of A Standard History of Kansas. 'Mr. Gröndal, both in his profession and in other lines of activity is a man of widely diversified experience. His career is an interesting one since he came to America in childhood years and has fought continuously a brave and unremitting struggle until he placed himself in a position where he is master of a congenial profession. Mr. Gröndal is former president of the Kansas State Photographers Association.'
"In 2006, the Lindsborg community enjoyed a retrospective exhibition of Gröndal‘s work in the McPherson County Old Mill Museum. Director Lorna Nelson summed up his work: 'He not only took traditional portraits in his studio but also photographed numerous aspects of community and real life over time. He was known for the outstanding quality of his work and fair business practices that made photographs affordable for everyone. His love of both photography and his community is evident in his body of work. Everyone in the Smoky Valley knew B.G. Gröndal‘s photography. His photos are part of family traditions. Beyond that, the photographic history of this part of Kansas is infinitely richer because of the work of this talented photographer and a lifelong pursuit of his art… It is fitting that he be recognized as a major figure chronicling the early life of Lindsborg and its citizens.' One note of distinction is that in 1899 some of Gröndal‘s work was published in Wilsons Photographic Magazine, in New York City.
"Bob Brinkman, of the Texas State Historical Society, wrote in his book, Round Rock, “Gröndal took traditional studio portraits and also city scenes and landscapes, building a valuable record of life in Round Rock and Lindsborg.”
"Bror Gustaf Gröndal, in adulthood known to friends as B.G., was born in 1855 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Johan Gustaf and Sofi Jack Gröndal, the ninth of eleven children. At his death in 1858 his widow Sofi established the family home where her sons could be assured of a good education in the city of Uppsala at the University. Bror, 11, began his schooling at the University’s Latin School for Boys, but unlike his brothers, he was not a scholar. He preferred sports and spending time outdoors. The elder brother Filip advised Bror‘s mother to have him enter the Swedish Navy at age 16 as a cadet."
'At the very head of the profession of photography in Kansas stands Bror Gustaf Gröndal, who, for 30 consecutive years, had conducted the leading studio at Lindsborg,' wrote William Connelly in the 1918 edition of A Standard History of Kansas. 'Mr. Gröndal, both in his profession and in other lines of activity is a man of widely diversified experience. His career is an interesting one since he came to America in childhood years and has fought continuously a brave and unremitting struggle until he placed himself in a position where he is master of a congenial profession. Mr. Gröndal is former president of the Kansas State Photographers Association.'
"In 2006, the Lindsborg community enjoyed a retrospective exhibition of Gröndal‘s work in the McPherson County Old Mill Museum. Director Lorna Nelson summed up his work: 'He not only took traditional portraits in his studio but also photographed numerous aspects of community and real life over time. He was known for the outstanding quality of his work and fair business practices that made photographs affordable for everyone. His love of both photography and his community is evident in his body of work. Everyone in the Smoky Valley knew B.G. Gröndal‘s photography. His photos are part of family traditions. Beyond that, the photographic history of this part of Kansas is infinitely richer because of the work of this talented photographer and a lifelong pursuit of his art… It is fitting that he be recognized as a major figure chronicling the early life of Lindsborg and its citizens.' One note of distinction is that in 1899 some of Gröndal‘s work was published in Wilsons Photographic Magazine, in New York City.
"Bob Brinkman, of the Texas State Historical Society, wrote in his book, Round Rock, “Gröndal took traditional studio portraits and also city scenes and landscapes, building a valuable record of life in Round Rock and Lindsborg.”
"Bror Gustaf Gröndal, in adulthood known to friends as B.G., was born in 1855 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Johan Gustaf and Sofi Jack Gröndal, the ninth of eleven children. At his death in 1858 his widow Sofi established the family home where her sons could be assured of a good education in the city of Uppsala at the University. Bror, 11, began his schooling at the University’s Latin School for Boys, but unlike his brothers, he was not a scholar. He preferred sports and spending time outdoors. The elder brother Filip advised Bror‘s mother to have him enter the Swedish Navy at age 16 as a cadet."
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THE SMOKY VALLEY
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Page 31
THE SMOKY VALLEY
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Page 31
“Who would think that in 1887 a church conference in Round Rock, Texas, could play an important role in the history of Lindsborg, Kansas?" wrote Nancy Peterson. (Mrs. Peterson wrote a brief biography of Gröndal for the 1991 program for Lindsborg's biennial fall Hyllningsfest that honors senior citizens.) At the church conference was Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, president of Bethany College, a small Lutheran college, located in Lindsborg, Kansas. There he met B. G. and Sarah Gröndal. He was impressed by the quality of their work. He said Lindsborg, dependent upon itinerant photographers, needed a permanent photographer, and asked the couple to come to Lindsborg and grow with the college. They came and B.G. never regretted it, for Bethany College was responsible for a large portion of the Gröndal business – its students and faculty. Dr. Swensson's hope was realized. When the first yearbook, the Bethany Daisy, was published in 1908, the photographs were B.G‘s.
"At first B.G. located his Lindsborg gallery on the west side of the street near the intersection of Main and State in an existing frame building that he fitted out with a skylight and dark room. For about five years, the Gröndals operated studios simultaneously in Lindsborg and Round Rock, where, according to Texas historian Bob Brinkman, he partnered with William B. Praytor. This arrangement was made with the option of a return to Round Rock, as Sarah was loathe to leave her friends in Texas.
"After the Texas home and studio were sold, a house across the street on the northeast corner of Main and State was bought and remodeled into a “First Class Photo Gallery." From the newspaper: “B.G. Gröndal is now installed in his new photographic gallery, and is prepared to give his patrons better service than ever. The new gallery is splendidly furnished and equipped in the most up-two-date manner and can rival any of the galleries in the country."
"In 1908, B.G. erected a spacious brick studio on the southeast corner of Main and State with a large “opening," or posing room equipped with a single – slant skylight on the north where he could take group photographs of as many as 40 persons. Several months later, the community read that B.G. Gröndal was receiving letters from prominent photographers in the state, asking for information in regard to the construction of photographic studios. The local paper also reported that Mr. Gröndal "is an authority on the subject, having one of the best constructed and equipped studios in the state.“
"When lean times struck, some folks were unable to pay for their work. In 1894, the local paper Lindsborg News ran advertisements that read: 'Gröndal does the very best of work in the photographic line and his prices have been greatly reduced, owing to the hard times. It will pay you to call on him.' This ad was repeated in succeeding weeks. Another ad, dated September 4, 1894, read: 'Hard Times, but Good News – FOR A SHORT TIME, I will make you A DOZEN good and DURABLE Cabinet Photographs for $1.50.'
"His account book for 1890 shows monthly total receipts ranging from 45 cents for one month to $11.40 in May and $86.85 in December. Gröndal was such an enthusiastic Bethany supporter that he contributed money, even beyond his means, in the difficult 1890s.
"Athletic teams were formed at Bethany about five or six years after he arrived in town. Once he bought a camera with the fastest lens available in order to snap pictures of those giants, the Terrible Swedes football team in action. In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged Harvard University to an intersectional contest. For several years B.G. made panels with pictures of the various athletic teams at Bethany College and presented them to members of the teams.
"Venturing afield from Lindsborg in 1890, B.G. travel to Colorado with a group of Lindsborg businessman. There he took a series of photographs in the Garden of the Gods, a stunning landscape of rock formations in the foothills of the Rockies near Colorado Springs. In 1894, accompanied by J. S. Westerland, he went to Trinidad, Colorado, to take photographs for the Las Animas Sand Company. During that trip he appeared with his camera case and tripod in a group photograph of tourists atop Pikes Peak. In those days railroads crisscrossed the country, making faraway places easily accessible."
"At first B.G. located his Lindsborg gallery on the west side of the street near the intersection of Main and State in an existing frame building that he fitted out with a skylight and dark room. For about five years, the Gröndals operated studios simultaneously in Lindsborg and Round Rock, where, according to Texas historian Bob Brinkman, he partnered with William B. Praytor. This arrangement was made with the option of a return to Round Rock, as Sarah was loathe to leave her friends in Texas.
"After the Texas home and studio were sold, a house across the street on the northeast corner of Main and State was bought and remodeled into a “First Class Photo Gallery." From the newspaper: “B.G. Gröndal is now installed in his new photographic gallery, and is prepared to give his patrons better service than ever. The new gallery is splendidly furnished and equipped in the most up-two-date manner and can rival any of the galleries in the country."
"In 1908, B.G. erected a spacious brick studio on the southeast corner of Main and State with a large “opening," or posing room equipped with a single – slant skylight on the north where he could take group photographs of as many as 40 persons. Several months later, the community read that B.G. Gröndal was receiving letters from prominent photographers in the state, asking for information in regard to the construction of photographic studios. The local paper also reported that Mr. Gröndal "is an authority on the subject, having one of the best constructed and equipped studios in the state.“
"When lean times struck, some folks were unable to pay for their work. In 1894, the local paper Lindsborg News ran advertisements that read: 'Gröndal does the very best of work in the photographic line and his prices have been greatly reduced, owing to the hard times. It will pay you to call on him.' This ad was repeated in succeeding weeks. Another ad, dated September 4, 1894, read: 'Hard Times, but Good News – FOR A SHORT TIME, I will make you A DOZEN good and DURABLE Cabinet Photographs for $1.50.'
"His account book for 1890 shows monthly total receipts ranging from 45 cents for one month to $11.40 in May and $86.85 in December. Gröndal was such an enthusiastic Bethany supporter that he contributed money, even beyond his means, in the difficult 1890s.
"Athletic teams were formed at Bethany about five or six years after he arrived in town. Once he bought a camera with the fastest lens available in order to snap pictures of those giants, the Terrible Swedes football team in action. In 1903 the Bethany College football team had a national reputation and challenged Harvard University to an intersectional contest. For several years B.G. made panels with pictures of the various athletic teams at Bethany College and presented them to members of the teams.
"Venturing afield from Lindsborg in 1890, B.G. travel to Colorado with a group of Lindsborg businessman. There he took a series of photographs in the Garden of the Gods, a stunning landscape of rock formations in the foothills of the Rockies near Colorado Springs. In 1894, accompanied by J. S. Westerland, he went to Trinidad, Colorado, to take photographs for the Las Animas Sand Company. During that trip he appeared with his camera case and tripod in a group photograph of tourists atop Pikes Peak. In those days railroads crisscrossed the country, making faraway places easily accessible."
Go HERE to "Through the Lens of B.G. Gröndal: Keeper of His Time"
~ The Words of Mrs. Eddy:
"Studio Cameras" "Studio Remembered" "Gröndal's Career" "Photography as an Art Form"
"Professional Organizations"
Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy
(1927-2017)
Granddaughter of B.G. Gröndal
(1927-2017)
Granddaughter of B.G. Gröndal
Bror Gustaf Gröndal
(1855-1948)
Lindsborg's Photographer
1887-1945
“Dean of Kansas Photographers”
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The Family of Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy has kindly extended permission to share selections from her
2013 Through the Lens of Bror Gustaf Gröndal: Keeper of His Time in SWEDES, 8-23-23.
This "is in a collection of Lindsborg work in the Library of Congress" -- Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy,
page 105 of Through the Lens of Bror Gustaf Gröndal: Keeper of His Time.
2013 Through the Lens of Bror Gustaf Gröndal: Keeper of His Time in SWEDES, 8-23-23.
This "is in a collection of Lindsborg work in the Library of Congress" -- Mrs. Margaret Dahlquist Eddy,
page 105 of Through the Lens of Bror Gustaf Gröndal: Keeper of His Time.
SOURCE: THROUGH THE LENS OF B.G. GRÖNDAL: KEEPER OF HIS TIME
* * *
"Let Us Celebrate Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated.
Copyright © since October 8, 2015 to Current Year
as indicated on main menu sections of
www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
"Let Us Celebrate Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated.
Copyright © since October 8, 2015 to Current Year
as indicated on main menu sections of
www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
